We had a wild day today! Seriously wild. Or, as Serena and Katherine had put it, “we had an unforgettable adventure.”
So yesterday after Raging Waters, my hubby-who-always-love-a-good-adventure had the brilliant suggestion for us to rent bicycles and ride them across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. I thought it was a good idea and was up for the exercise. Very surprisingly, Serena was the one that really jumped on the idea. She said that would be her top choice of activity!
Therefore, we headed to San Francisco bright and early today. Our first stop was Japantown, as Serena and Katherine both wanted to have sushi for lunch. Sushi it was, followed by our favorite indulgence–Sophie’s Crepe! It was Serena’s first crepe experience, and she loved it!
After lunch, we went straight to Fisherman’s Wharf to rent our bicycles at Blazing Saddles. It took some time to get everyone comfortable, but within the hour we were on our way!
We first cycled behind Fort Mason, where some of the uphill roads proved to be a bit challenging for the kids. They were good sports though, and we continued our way towards Crissy Field, stopping occasionally to snap our cameras away. It was a glorious day in the city, and the views were spectacular from every angle.
Once we got to Crissy Fields, we parked our bikes and allowed the girls to enjoy the fields for a bit. Bridgette was ecstatic as she picked flowers to create her “bridal bouquet.”
We simply could not have picked a more perfect day to be cycling across the bridge….
Ofcourse, there were bound to be some cuts and scrapes with 3 kids. Poor Serena swirled her bike while trying to avoid a little boy in front of her, and scraped her hand and knee on a gravel road…we had to clean and bandage her up right away, but she was very courageous through the whole incident!
After that small setback, we continued our way (uphill!) towards Golden Gate Bridge. See what great spirit Serena had even after her accident?
It was semi-crowded when we got to the bridge entrance, so naturally, it was challenging to try to maneuver our bikes around the pedestrians. It took some effort, but we made it across the bridge in about 15 minutes!
Getting to Sausalito proved to be the most difficult part of our ride, as it was down a pretty steep hill without a designated bike lane. Serena and Katherine walked most of the way, and we finally made it to Sausalito around 6:00pm (we departed Fisherman’s Wharf around 2:00pm). We rode a total of 8 miles! Needless to say, we were beyond exhausted by the time we got to Sausalito, but we managed to maintain a good attitude.
The girls seemed eager to get home and rest by that point, so we searched for the ferry dock, only to find a mile long line of about a hundred other bikers wanting to head back to S.F. as well!
In order to catch the last ferry at 7:45pm, we needed to be stationed at that mile long line as well. In an effort to make the wait a little more bearable, I went and got delicious pizza for us to enjoy. Besides, it was dinner time anyways!
When we finally boarded the ferry at about 8:00pm, we were so drained that we all wanted to collapse. But, as we sailed along the bay, the beautiful sunset greeted us, and we all agreed it was the perfect ending to a very adventurous day. 🙂
I was too tired to photograph the sunset, but I did catch a great shot of Sausalito before we departed…
By the time we docked at Pier 41 in San Francisco, it was 8:50pm and dark out. We tiredly biked another mile to return our bikes to Blazing Saddles. Just when I thought the girls would want to head straight home, they surprised us by asking to eat a late night snack. Burger and fries, they requested. Ofcourse, there was only one appropriate place to take them for that!
As we rode home, I asked the girls what they thought about our day of cycling. Surprisingly they all said they had the best time and would do it all over again. As Serena put it, “it would be so cool to tell my friends I biked across the Golden Gate Bridge!”
Never a dull moment in our lives…let’s see what the next few days have in store for us 🙂
1 Comment